Stahlman Park Conference Center

Conference and Rental facility. Stahlman Park was rebuilt after it was destroyed during Hurricane Ike. Perfect for parties, weddings, family events, large gatherings. Facility is beach front and can be rented and reserved for private events.

TO RESERVE, please call the Village of Surfside Beach at (979) 233-1531.

Visitors to Sea Center Texas will find numerous attractions. A favorite of children and adults a like is the touch tank that allows visitors to handle marine life such as blue crabs, hermit crabs, urchins, snails and anemones.

Other highlights include the Coastal Bay Aquarium, where species such as red drum and spotted sea trout can be seen; and the Offshore Gulf of Mexico Aquarium, a 52,000 gallon aquarium, red drum, snapper and jacks try to avoid the 4 to 8 ft. sharks circling
over the sand bottom.

Admissions: Free, but Donations are Accepted.

Hours: Tuesday - Saturday - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
*Tours of the hatchery building are available by appointment only.

Dedicated to preserving and exhibiting artifacts, photographs, letters, maps and documents that relate to four different heritages:

• The Prehistoric Era
• The Industrial Development
• Petrochemical Development
• The Birth and Growth of Lake Jackson

The Centerpiece of the Museum is a composite airplane that was designed by and named after Leo Windecker, a former Lake Jackson dentist. The airplane was at first to demonstrate its invisibility to radar and was the precursor to the Stealth Aircraft.

A facility designed for the cultural enrichment of the Brazosport and surrounding areas. Brazosport Center Stages has the oldest theatre group on the Texas Coast with performances starting in the fall and varying from drama to comedy. The Center also has
a musical arm called the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra, which produces six major concerts each year. The Brazosport Art League promotes and displays artwork from local artists as well as traveling exhibits. The Museum of Natural Science features the Hall of
Malacology, which offers the most extensive collection of shells on exhibit in the southern United States. The Nature Center and Planetarium provide educational programs and planetarium shows throughout the year. Visitors can take a self-guided tour along
the banks of Oyster Creek on the nature trail, which is an excellent way to unwind and enjoy the scenery. The trail exhibits more than two hundred species of river bottom vegetation and had abundant wildlife.

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Area Guide: Things to do / Activities / Attractions:

The Brazoria County Historical Museum is housed in the 1897 Brazoria County Courthouse. This was the third courthouse constructed in the county since the first was built in the town of Brazoria-- then the county seat--shortly after the Texas Revolution
(1836). It was designed with Italian Renaissance elements popular during the period, but was modernized and expanded between 1913 and 1927 to its current style and size. In 1940 a new courthouse was constructed nearby and the old facility was used as the County
Library and to house a number of public agencies.

By 1978, the building had deteriorated to the point that the County Judge suggested openly that it be demolished. Community leaders rallied to the challenge and in 1979, the County Historical Commission signed a 100-year lease, agreeing to bring the
building up to standards and open it within two years as a County Historical Museum. In March, 1981, a preview opening was conducted to meet the two-year requirement. In 1983, half the building was permanently opened to the public. The other half continued
to be occupied by the County's Adult Probation Department until 1989. That year, the Brazoria County Historical Museum, Inc., a private, non-profit organization to which the Historical Commission's lease had been assigned, began the massive renovation of the
east end, which was completed the following year.

Since 1979, over $700,000 has been spent to restore the structure to its 1927 condition. Most of that money was contributed by foundations, businesses, and private donors. Tax revenues were allocated as needed for structural repairs. The building stands
today as the model county historical museum in the state. It is a fitting tribute to the county's rich history and its citizens' recognition of the role their predecessors played in the founding and development of Texas.

Named one of the TEN BEST museums in Texas by Frommer's Travel Guide. The Museum is home to the largest collection of shells on display in the south with shells from around the world. The Museum also features a real life-size fossilized dinosaur, skeletons
and other rarely exhibited fossils plus exhibits on wildlife, rocks & minerals and archeology to round out the museum.

Enjoy Brazosport Planetarium at the Center for Arts and Sciences in Clute, Texas. We are open for BISD High School astronomy classes, visits from thousands of K -12 from BISD and other surrounding schools and districts. We feature both full dome and
traditional public programs weekly and bring telescopes to the community through school and planetarium star viewing events.

Our lobby features ViewSpace, an internet-fed, self-updating, exhibit from the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Our displays include interactive computers and 13 steps to the Universe – an ever widening pictorial view
of space.

For more infromation, please call The Center's main office at 979-265-7661 (toll-free 877-265-7661)
We are located at 400 College Blvd., Clute, TX 77531

Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, a Texas Historical Commission property, is situated on 66 acres along the Brazos River, 50 miles south of Houston in Brazoria County. The site was donated
to the state in 1957 by Miss Ima Hogg, daughter of Texas Gov. James S. Hogg, and dedicated and opened on March 24, 1958.

Today, the site tells the story of the plantation’s 134-year history. Although the land was first settled by Austin colonist Martin Varner in 1824, the antebellum mansion was built by slaves of the property’s second owner, Columbus Patton, using handmade bricks
from the Brazos River mud. In 1901, James S. Hogg, the first native-born Texas governor, purchased the land for oil speculation. The site includes the majestic plantation house, pecan orchards, numerous original outbuildings and outdoor features including
the governor’s bathtub, Patton’s cemetery and sugarcane mill ruins.